Shakespeare is woven into the culture of the British Caribbean, with a special emphasis on Caliban and The Tempest–but does he reflect the colonial past, influence anti-colonial authors, or both? Scholars Giselle Rampaul and Barrymore A. Bogues traced his complex role in a classic Shakespeare Unlimited interview.
How do Shakespeare’s plays reflect a life filled with plague outbreaks, asks Austin Tichenor — and do we see his plays in new ways now?
As proof that Shakespeare continues to inspire, one need look no further than a beer commercial that aired this past Fourth of July. Budweiser hired actor Bill Pullman to give a presidential speech declaring our freedom from COVID isolation, part of a promotional push to encourage people to get vaccinated by offering them free beer…. Continue Reading »
The conversation around Shakespeare and hip-hop to date has tended to focus on either their linguistic malleability or the racial politics which surround the enmeshment of an originally African-American cultural movement with the work of a white playwright who, in the eyes of many, symbolizes English power and cultural authority. However, when artists reference Shakespeare’s name itself, to what uses do they put the playwright’s reputation and how do those purposes differ when his name is cited by artists of different ethnicities and genders?
Depictions of William Shakespeare in fictional works are animated by the same impulse behind fanfiction — to fill in the blanks of the story — and such imaginative speculation can help us understand Shakespeare’s life in a richer, possibly more responsible way than standard biography. Biofiction places a real person into a fictional narrative, and… Continue Reading »
Thanks for celebrating Shakespeare’s birthday with us this year! We received many creative and inspiring responses to our invitation to #ShareYourShakespeare on social media. Many people recited a line, speech, or sonnet from Shakespeare’s works. Here are a few of our favorites.
Austin Tichenor reflects on the tension the WandaVision series creates between character and genre, reminding him of Shakespeare’s plays.
“It’s no wonder that The Crown — nominated for a record six Golden Globes in this Sunday’s annual awards ceremony — is so successful and popular,” writes Austin Tichenor. “Its depiction of an English monarch struggling to rule Britain while navigating political threats and family tensions is downright Shakespearean.”
Shakespeare quotes can seem like good choices for Valentine’s Day cards, but his tales of love are nuanced and complicated.
Shakespeare & Beyond readers may remember author Ian Doescher’s announcement here in December 2019 that he would be reading through all of Shakespeare’s works in 2020, inviting anyone interested to join him. Many of our readers said yes! We asked Ian to return to the blog and reflect on the Shakespeare 2020 Project.
